Wichita eagle., 1887-03-05
OUR WESTERN SETTLERS.

The speech delivered In congress Dy
Hon. S. r. Peters, congressman from this
district in behalf of the homesteaders and
in denunciation of the system of. espionage
practiced by government spies against the
struggling settlers on western lands, was
the strongest array of facts and arguments
yet offered upon that question in either
house. 1t was simply a comprehensive
statement from man of the manor and the
law laid down by lawyer and judge.
The outrages committed on defenseless
settlers, many of them entirely ignorant OF
the letter of the law, he held up In the
strongest light. The speech is too lengthy
to reproduce at this time. but he successful
ly answered every question propounded by
bis opposing colleagues, the average mem
Der of whom look upon every western set
tier as conspiring emisary trying to steal
land from the government, which land in
the absence of the settlers is and has been
Cor ages totally worthless.
We quote just one short paragraph from
the long speech:
"The wrongs Of the Irish tenants are as
nothing compared with the wrongs and
outrages that have been perpetrated on the
homesteader and pre-emptor on the pral-
ries of the west. But the claim for the re-
peal of this law has been put forth, appa-
rently, in the interest of the poor man and
the homesteader. The repeal Of this law Is
tn fact in the interest of the cattle syndi-
Gates and the cattle kings. Why. sir,
brief recital of the facts will illustrate and
support this allegation. Years ago man
or company desiring to engage in the cattle
industry on the western prairies, located
ranch upon some stream: in most cases not
even an attempt was made TO get title to
the land upon which the ranch or headquar-
tiers was located. These cattlernen were
mere squatters. AS they increased in mum
bers they apportioned out the public do
main among themselves and adopted code
of rules for their own government.
In all this cattle domain the rainfall was
either insufficient to agricultural purposes
ur it was not seassnable for crops. These
cattlemen knew that no man would or
could 90 upon this land if compelled to re-
side upon it and cultivate it for five years
under the homestead law Some attempts
were made to homestead in western Kansas
in 1878 and 1879, but on account OF the
drought failures resulted. The cattlemen
held possession, almost undispu'ed, IN the
country referred to until 1888 Meanwhile
climatic changes, brought about by lrriga-
tion and the construction OF railroads, al
fected the rainfall, and the home seeker,
eager to acquire a home. again began TO
venture, not under the homestead
law but under the pre- emptiOn law.
If he failed it was only loss OF
SIX months time and a couple of hundred
dollars worth of improvements. most OF it
accomplished by his own labor. He never
would have made the venture under the
homestead law. The experience OF the
preceding years made second attempt
under that law supreme folly. If the ef-
forts to repeal this presumption law in the
first session of the forty eighth congress
had been successful the rule of the cattle
men in that vast area of the public domain
would have been supreme.
Nothing that could have taken place
would have brought such joy to the camp
of the cattle syndicates as the repeal OF the
pre- emption law in the first or even in the
second session of the forty eighth congress.
The shrewd and r-seeing ones among
cattlcmen favored its repeal They even
visited Washington and lobbiod for its
repeal They cheered to the echo, in their
quiet, discreet way, the speeches made in
favor of its repeal They secretely en-
couraged the efforts that were made TO
render the preemptiOn law odiOus. When
The gentleman from Indiana Mr.. Holman
sought to increase the army of spies and
detectives in the Land Department these
cattle men, knowing that this would make
the pre- emption law more odious Endorsed
we'd his action and wished bin
success.
ter......cnt opposition by the Western
members, which at times, both In the For
ty-eighth congress and the first session OF
the Forty ninth, was denounced as "fili
clustering" prevented the passage OF the
bill. What has been the result!
More than fifty thousand farms
have been opened in Kansas alone during
the past. three wears, which land, ifthe pre-
emption law had been repealed, would to
day be in ossession of the cattlemen. In
Kansas more than dozen
counties have been organized in the last
three years, having now populations vary
from 5000 to 90. 600 which counties would
not have been settled if the pre- emptiOn law
had been repealed, and cattle men and cat
tie syndicates would still have had com-
plete control over the miles of prairie
which now constitute the area of those
counties.